Giving a progress report on its migration program, the Commission said the number of criteria — so-called benchmarks — that Turkey needs to meet before it can secure visa-free travel has not changed since an assessment in June.

“The Commission has continued to encourage Turkey’s efforts to complete the delivery of all seven outstanding benchmarks … as soon as possible,” it said in a press release.

The EU “remains committed to help Turkey fulfill the remaining criteria as soon as possible,” Dimitris Avramopoulos, the migration commissioner, said during a press conference.

One of the most problematic areas has been Turkey’s anti-terror legislation. which the EU wants changed but which Turkey is refusing to amend. The benchmarks include a call for “the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression.” Ankara has called in the Council of Europe, the human rights organization, to help resolve the standstill.

Visa liberalization was a key part of an EU-Turkey deal struck in March in which Ankara was asked to stem the flow of refugees into Europe in exchange for cash and other benefits. Of the €3 billion Ankara was promised as part of the deal, €1.252 million has been handed over, the Commission said.

The number of migrants reaching Europe through Turkey has fallen dramatically since the deal came into effect.

Figures show the average number of daily arrivals to Greece has dropped to 85 since June, a huge fall from the over 1,700 per day in the month before the implementation of the agreement and the 7,000 per day arriving in October 2015.

However, not all parts of the deal are going so smoothly. So far, 578 people have been returned from Greece to Turkey, most of them on a voluntary basis, not because they were sent back by Greek tribunals, officials said.

The agreement to resettle one Syrian refugee in the EU for each Syrian sent back from Greece to Turkey has been a success, the Commission said. “An additional 1,071 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey between June and September 27, tripling the number of people resettled and bringing the total number from Turkey … to 1,614,” the Commission said.

The EU’s internal relocation scheme, which has been plagued by problems since its inception, has shown some signs of progress, according to Wednesday’s report. The plan was to distribute 160,000 refugees between member countries. So far, 5,651 migrants who were in Greece and Italy have been relocated. The Commission said the 1,202 relocations in September was the highest monthly figure so far.

hamni

Daniel F.

@hamni:
All right, your argument? And no “wake up sheeple” stuff, please. No “I already told you to pull your head out of your a_s” either.

Posted on 9/28/16 | 5:28 PM CEST

Hamni

@Daniel F

Daniel I am being rude I know but don’t take it personally, it is a little tongue in cheek. If all the evidence that the EU wishes to further Turkey’s membership wish hasn’t convinced you I certainly won’t in a short message. This has been going on long before the refugee crisis. One of us is right and one of us is wrong. Time will tell. Either makes no difference to me.

Posted on 9/28/16 | 5:44 PM CEST

Spencer HR

Turkey can’t even get visa-free access because it refuses to change its backward laws… but it will definitely become a full EU member, right?